Quote:
Originally Posted by Lookingforone  "As a guideline, the lethal dose is considered to be around 70 mg per 1 lb body weight (150 mg / kg body weight).
As an example, instant coffee contains over 60 mg caffeine per teaspoon. So, the lethal dose of caffeine for a 15 lb dog would be 17 teaspoons of instant coffee. Stronger coffees such as Turkish coffee, percolated coffees, and energy drinks would take much less to become toxic."
For my dog, it would take around 2 teaspoons, or 6 "licks" to harm him.
If your dog is 5lbs, it would take about 7 teaspoons of coffee to harm them. Since your dog is bigger than mine, it probably would take less "licks."
My point is, if your dog jumps on the table and accidentally steals some of your coffee, fine. But who honestly measures out the non-lethal dose of coffee and gives it to their dog separately? From the posts it sounds like most dogs just drink out of the owners cup which would not be measured to perfection. Then there's that "what the hell is the point of even giving them coffee to begin with?" That still rings in my head that not one person could answer. |
Referencing one of my text books: the numbers in my "Small Animal Toxicology" textbook by M.E.Peterson, has very different calculations on toxic/lethal doses of caffeine, and stresses that dogs
eating coffee grounds or tea bags present much more danger of hitting the numbers to have toxic reactions....According to this textbook, "The minimal lethal dose of caffeine in a dog is 140-150mg/Kg of body weight. A 5 oz cup of drip coffee contains 80-85mg.....a 5oz cup of instant coffee contains 30-90mg......and a 5oz cup of decaf contains 2-4 mg. So these numbers clearly indicate a lot more than a couple of teaspoons would nenecessary to be toxic or lethal to a dog.....and I am sure very few of us are giving 2+ cups of coffee to our babies. Based on what I am reading in my textbooks, I feel quite safe allowing my babies to continue to share with me, a few sips/laps of my coffee/tea, especially when I am enjoying decaf.